After a year away from the NHL, it appears that forward Jiri Hudler is planning to return to the Detroit Red Wings next season.
Hudler's agent, former NHL defenceman Petr Svoboda, is expected to announce as early as Friday that his client is coming back to North America after one season in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League.
Hudler left Detroit last summer to play with Moscow Dynamo, and scored 19 goals and 35 assists. However, he was released from his contract when the club folded at the end of the season.
Hudler, 26, still has a two-year deal with the Red Wings that will pay him $2.875 million per season. He is not eligible to join Detroit during this spring's playoffs because he was not on the club's roster prior to the March trade deadline.
The Czech Republic-native was originally drafted by the Red Wings in the second round of the 2002 draft. He played in parts of five seasons for Detroit, and totalled 52 goals and 75 assists in 255 games. He won a Stanley Cup with the team in 2008.
